Insights, tools and research to advance journalism The Innovation Divide: Similarities and differences in how managers and staff view the transition to digital QUESTIONNAIRE NOTES: The survey was administered through SurveyMonkey. =================== denotes page breaks in the survey administration. GREEN HIGHLIGHTING denotes programming not seen by respondents. YELLOW HIGHLIGHTING denotes questions that are not included in the dataset. BLUE HIGHLIGHTING denotes researcher comments.
INTRODUCTION We are collaborating on this survey with about two dozen other top journalism and communication schools around the country, along with the American Press Institute. Your participation in the survey will contribute to a better understanding of where journalism and other communications fields are today and will help us improve our offerings. Your answers will be completely confidential and you will remain anonymous. Thank you for participating in this important study. EMPLOYMENT DESCRIPTION 1. What college or graduate degrees do you have? Check all that apply. Some college Undergraduate degree in journalism Undergraduate degree in communications Undergraduate degree in public relations Undergraduate degree in advertising or marketing Undergraduate degree in other subjects Master's degree in journalism Master's degree in communications Master's degree in public relations Master's degree in advertising or marketing Master's degree in other subjects PhD or other doctorate in any field None Other (please specify) 2. In what year did you receive your most recent degree? EMPLOYMENT 2 3. Which of the following describes your current employment status? Full time Part-time Freelancing full time/consulting Currently not employed/seeking employment Currently employed full time but seeking new employment Retired/ not in workforce Internship/fellowship
If you are retired or currently unemployed please answer Questions 4 10 about the last job that you had. 4. Which of the following best describes where you work? (If multiple places, check all that apply) Advertising/marketing/public relations/communication/media agency Advocacy/public interest/think tank group (nonprofit) Commercial product or services company (for profit, non media or communications) Digital only news organization Educational institution Freelancing Government Magazines Newspaper media Radio media Self-employed, entrepreneur Technology or social media company TV media Other (please specify) 5. Which of the following best describes what you personally do in your job? (Select all that apply.) Academic research Advertising creative, art Advertising creative, copy Advertising account executive/planner Assignment/section editing Audience development and research Audience engagement (social media, community content) Content production for brands Copy editing Data journalism Education/teaching Graphics/design or data visualization Market analysis/research Media planning/buying Photo Product management Public relations/marketing Senior management Web development (designer or developer) Web production (including aggregation) Writing/reporting Other (please specify)
EMPLOYMENT 3 NOTE: The responses to questions 6, 7, and 8 are not included in the public dataset or topline due to identifying information. With titles changing, it's become harder to categorize jobs. These open-ended questions will help researchers in the future. 6. What is your job title? (If unemployed or retired, what was your last title?) 7. Please briefly describe your job responsibilities in three sentences or less. 8. What is the name of your employer or employers? (This will be used simply for categorization purposes. Your answer will be kept confidential. Freelancers, please report self. ) If you are retired or currently not employed but seeking work, name your last employer. 9. Would you describe the work you do or contribute to as journalism? Yes, I would describe my work as journalism No, I would describe my work as something other than journalism Not sure RESPONDENTS ANSWERING Yes were asked Q10 and Q11. THOSE ANSWERING No OR Not sure SKIPPED TO Q12. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN JOURNALISM 10. About which of the following topics are you frequently responsible for producing or editing content? (Check all that apply) Breaking news / general assignment Business / economy Crime / courts Education Features (people and events) Lifestyle / home / garden / fashion Politics / government Religion Science and technology Social issues Transportation Weather None of these Other (please specify)
11. Thinking about the changes in journalism and your own work, do you think the quality of what you are able to produce is better, worse or about the same as what you produced five years ago? (If you have been working in journalism less than five years, then since you began.) Improved greatly in quality Improved somewhat in quality Remained about the same as 5 years ago Declined somewhat in quality Declined greatly in quality VIEWS OF MEDIA Now we d like to ask you some questions about how you feel about your job and media and journalism in general. 12. Thinking of media in general, do you think on balance that the journalism produced today has improved in quality, declined in quality or is about the same as it was 5 years ago? Improved greatly in quality Improved somewhat in quality Remained about the same as 5 years ago Declined somewhat in quality Declined greatly in quality 13. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing journalism in general today? Choose no more than three. ORDER OF RESPONSES RANDOMIZED. LIMITED TO 3 RESPONSES. The economic model for news is broken Traditional media companies need to adapt faster to new technology Technology monopolies already control the internet Journalism education isn t preparing the journalists of the future The flood of opinion and false information on the internet is too great The public doesn t care about quality journalism Media owners today don t believe quality will sell Media owners have focused too much on profits Other (please specify)
VIEWS OF MEDIA cont. 14. What do you think is the biggest benefit that new technologies bring to journalism today? Please pick up to three. ORDER OF RESPONSES RANDOMIZED. LIMITED TO 3 RESPONSES. Technology lets you tell and report stories in ways that weren t possible before You don t need an institution to create journalism People can more easily find the news they need If you create something great, people will find it Distribution is faster and easier News is a two-way conversation People can access news from anywhere Other (please specify) 15. Thinking about your own work, whether in journalism or not, what obstacles do you think most affect your ability to do your job? (Select up to three). ORDER OF RESPONSES RANDOMIZED. LIMITED TO 3 RESPONSES. The need to regularly update social media Always being on the clock The challenge of keeping up with new tools and technology Organization resources and staffing Changing or unclear goals or strategy at the company Lack of in-house training to prepare me for my particular job Business pressures undermining journalism ethics Other (please specify) 16. Which of the following have you personally experienced at work at least once within the past five years? (Select all that apply) Benefits reduction Duties added to existing job responsibilities Engaged in an interesting innovation project Furlough (forced unpaid time off) Launched a startup or new venture in my company Launched a startup or new venture on my own Layoff Pay cut Pay raise Promotion Started in a new job that didn t exist a few years ago None of these
17. How would you describe your feeling about your job security? Very secure Fairly secure Not too secure Not secure at all Not Sure O O O O O 18. If you work in journalism, describe where you see yourself in five years. I will still be in journalism I want to stay in journalism but doubt I ll be able to I will switch to another field I want to switch to another field but this is all I know how to do I don t work in journalism now SUBSAMPLES Q19 Q27 INVOLVED A SPLIT SAMPLE. RESPONDENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THE SUBSAMPLES. Q19-Q22 WERE ASKED AMONG THE FIRST SUBSAMPLE Q23-Q27 WERE ASKED AMONG THE SECOND SUBSAMPLE FIRST SUBSAMPLE (Q19-Q22) FREELANCING 19. Outside of your primary job, which, if any, of the following have you done in the last five years? (Select all that apply) Contributed time to a professional communication/journalism association or group Contributed time to a startup or non profit effort Created your own website Donated your skills for a school, association, church or charitable group Done freelance work in marketing/public relations Done freelance work in news Done freelance work in web design/app development Maintained a personal blog Taught a course related to my field at a university or community college Used social media to try to advance your career None of these 20. NOT INCLUDED PROGRAMMING ERROR.
21. If you did freelance work, how much were you paid for your most recent assignment? I was not paid $100 or less Between $100 and $500 $501 $1,000 $1,001 to $5,000 More than $5,000 I don t remember I haven t done any freelance work in the last five years. 22. Which of the following were the most important reasons for your deciding to do the freelance work? (Choose up to three). ORDER OF RESPONSES RANDOMIZED. LIMITED TO 3 RESPONSES. I wanted to raise or market my personal profile I hoped it would lead to a paying job with the same organization I wanted to gain experience producing work that my current job wouldn t allow me to do I wanted to give back to the organization in some way I just had something I wanted to say I believed in and wanted to advance the mission of the organization The compensation made it worth my time I haven t done any freelance work in the last five years Other (please specify) SECOND SUBSAMPLE (Q23-27): ATTITUDES ABOUT TRENDS IN JOURNALISM Now we want to ask you about your attitudes and perceptions regarding certain types of journalism practices and trends. SPONSORED CONTENT / NATIVE ADVERTISING News organizations are beginning to experiment with new forms of advertising that are different from traditional display ads. These new forms, which can resemble editorial content, have been described by different names, including sponsored content and native advertising. 23. In general, which of the following statements comes closer to your view of the practice of sponsored content or native advertising? Sponsored content and native advertising could help bring in new revenue to journalism and there is a way to do it ethically. Sponsored content and native advertising cross ethical boundaries and ultimately will damage news organizations credibility.
24. If you work in journalism, does your organization offer advertisers some form of native advertising or sponsored content? Yes No I don t know I don t work in journalism OTHER TRENDS 25. The internet makes redistributing content from other publishers easier than ever. Which of the following comes closer to your view of this practice? Good journalism costs money to produce and aggregators should compensate journalists and their organizations for that work. There is no stopping open distribution now and it s better to have more available to everyone. Another recent practice in news is so-called fact checking journalism, by which we mean news organizations producing content that is branded under a special title and rates or judges the accuracy of claims by politicians and government officials. 26. If you work in journalism, does the organization where you work do this kind of political fact checking work? Yes, my organization has a dedicated fact checking feature or brand (e.g., "Kansas Fact Meter") as an ongoing feature Yes, my organization has a dedicated fact checking feature or brand (e.g., "Kansas Fact Meter ) but only during elections No, we don t typically do this kind of branded or dedicated fact checking journalism I don t know I don t work in journalism Other (please specify) 27. Some people say fact checking journalism works by discouraging politicians from repeating claims. Others say it helps citizens understand which claims are true. Overall, for whatever reason, how effective or ineffective do you believe fact checking journalism is? Very effective Somewhat effective Neither effective nor ineffective Somewhat ineffective Very ineffective Not sure/no opinion END OF SUBSAMPLE QUESTIONS
TECHNOLOGY USE Now we d like to ask you some questions about technology 28. How comfortable are you employing each of the following technologies or digital practices for your job? Very comfortable Somewhat comfortable Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable Somewhat uncomfortable Not comfortable at all I don't use this in my job Content management systems Databases and computer assisted reporting Graphic Design software HTML Page Design or Layout software Programming languages such as Python or JavaScript Project management tools Responding to reader questions/comments Social media platforms Using digital tools to verify information 29. In which of the following ways do you use social media? (Check all that apply). To promote content that I or my publication has produced To ask questions as part of my reporting To discover new sources As part of sales promotions I m working on To raise awareness of a brand I m working on To stay connected and network with people in my subject area To keep an eye on the competition To discover and recruit for employees, community contributors To interact with students as an educator I don t use social media in my job Other (please specify)
CAREER / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 30. How important do you think each of the following skills is for someone in the field you work in today? For each, please rate from very important to not important at all. ORDER OF ITEMS RANDOMIZED. Very important Somewhat important Neither important nor unimportant Not very important Not at all important Ability to conduct audience/consumer research Audio recording and storytelling skills Career development/job-seeking skills Camera and production skills for still photography Camera and production skills for video Data visualization and chart-making skills Entrepreneurial skills Ethics Facility with understanding audience data and advanced metrics Fluency with data and numbers Graphics and web design skills History and theory of the web and computer science Investigative reporting skills Knowledge and fluency with the business of media Leadership and team management Marketing content in new ways Media law Newsgathering/reporting/interviewing skills Proficiency in coding languages Social media skills Subject matter expertise Understanding the best practices of other organizations Writing skills Not sure
31. For which of these skills would you pursue further training? Check all that apply. ORDER OF RESPONSE OPTIONS RANDOMIZED. Ability to conduct audience/consumer research Audio recording and storytelling skills Career development/job seeking skills Camera and production skills for still photography Camera and production skills for video Data visualization and chart making skills Entrepreneurial skills Ethics Facility with understanding audience data and advanced metrics Fluency with data and numbers Graphics and web design skills History and theory of the web and computer science Investigative reporting skills Knowledge and fluency with the business of media Leadership and team management Marketing content in new ways Media law Newsgathering/reporting/interviewing skills Proficiency in coding languages Social media skills Subject matter expertise Understanding the best practices of other organizations Writing skills
32. Thinking about the ways you have learned as a professional, please rate how valuable each of the following has been to you. ORDER OF ITEMS RANDOMIZED. Very valuable Somewhat valuable Not too valuable Not valuable at all NA/Not Sure College or graduate school classes in journalism O O O O O College or graduate school classes in communications fields other than journalism O O O O O College or graduate school classes in fields outside journalism and communications O O O O O Direction from my managers or supervisors O O O O O Trial, error and practice on my own O O O O O Peers and personal mentors I sought out O O O O O Attending trainings, conferences and meetups organized by associations O O O O O Organized training at my place of employment O O O O O Online courses/moocs/distance learning O O O O O Internships during or immediately after college O O O O O Experience with student publications O O O O O Other (please specify) Q33 Q44 NOT ASKED IN MANAGERS SAMPLE YOUR JOB HISTORY 45. How many full time jobs in journalism, media, advertising or public relations, if any, have you had? Six or more Four to five Two to three One I never got a full time job after graduation RESPONDENTS ANSWERING I never got a full time job after graduation were skipped to Q50.
YOUR FIRST JOB 46. How long after you finished school did you get your first full time job in media? Before/right after graduation One to six months 6 12 months 12 18 months Longer than 19 months 47. How did you find your first full time job in media? A website or print ad I found on my own Academic or faculty referral An employment agency At a career fair Cold call or unsolicited application College listserv messages Heard about job through a family member/friend Made a connection through previous internship Network of professionals Resources recommended by my college s career services Through an alum 48. What salary range did you start at in your first full time job in media? Less than $20,000 $20,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $29,999 $30,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $44,999 $45,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $54999 $55,000 to $60,000 Higher than $60,000 Q49 NOT ASKED IN MANAGERS SAMPLE
DEMOGRAPHICS 50. How many years have you been working in communication/journalism related fields? Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 5 to 10 years 10 to 20 years 20 or more years 51. How long have you been at your current employer? Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 5 to 10 years 10 to 20 years 20 or more years 52. What is your age? 53. What is your gender? Male Female Prefer not to disclose 54. We want to be sure we get a broad mix of the population. What ethnicity or race do you consider yourself to be? Check all that apply. Caucasian Hispanic African American Asian Other (please specify)
55. What is your current salary? Less than $20,000 $20,000 to $29,999 $30,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $59,999 $60,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 or more 56. In which country do you live? United States Other (please specify) 57. If in the United States, in which state do you live? (DROP DOWN MENU OF STATE ABBREVIATION CODES) [END OF QUESTIONNAIRE]